Henkell, Otto Hubertus

Sparkling wine producer, managing director, co-owner of Sektkellerei Henkell & Co.

born: 08.01.1923 in Wiesbaden

died: 18.02.1988 in Wiesbaden

Like his father Karl Henkell and his uncle Otto Heinrich Adolf Henkell, Henkell also took the helm of Sektkellerei Henkell & Co. After graduating from high school in 1941, he was drafted into military service and finally to the Russian campaign, returning in the spring of 1942 in poor health. After his father and brother were killed shortly before the end of the war, Henkell was discharged from military service and joined the company as a partner in the spring of 1945. In 1948, at the age of 22, he became head of the company.

At this time, the company was already structurally and capacitatively ready to face the coming competition on the market. In 1949, "OH", as he was soon known, presented a company concept. This envisaged forgoing profits for the next 36 months in favor of advertising and rebuilding the market position. The aim was to achieve a fundamental renewal of brand policy, production methods and relations with foreign countries. In connection with this, the quarter bottle of Henkell Pikkolo was to make sparkling wine consumption possible for a wide range of consumers. In the spirit of diversification, Henkell set up a new import department for spirits: The first foreign products were distributed in the spring of 1952. Henkell's concept of offering sparkling wine in the lower price segment was also reflected in the distribution of the Rüttgers brands from spring 1950. Henkell became active in the mid-price segment in 1969 with Carstens SC, the first vintage sparkling wine after the Second World War.

Henkell was also one of the first German sparkling wine producers to revive its export business immediately after the Second World War. The traditional "Henkell Trocken" brand in particular benefited from this abroad and, with the newly gained internationality, also at home. Henkell founded a branch in Austria with its own production facility in 1952.

He managed the company in a largely patriarchal manner until 1964. From the mid-1960s, the company was then managed by a five-member management team. However, even after this changeover, advertising, marketing and production design remained Henkell's special area of responsibility.

Henkell retired from active business life in 1982 and put the family business up for sale four years later. The bid was accepted by the children of Rudolf August Oetker (Bielefeld), who were shareholders in the sparkling wine producer Söhnlein Rheingold KG in Schierstein. The company has been run as a family business since 1986/87, initially as Henkell & Söhnlein Sektkellereien KG and again as Henkell & Co. Sektkellerei KG since 2010.

Henkell was awarded the Brillat-Savarin plaque in 1978 for his services to German sparkling wine and German gastronomy. He also made a name for himself as Vice President of the Association of German Sparkling Wine Cellars and became known throughout Germany as a patron of art and culture.